Originally published in France, this vibrantly colored, vertically bound offering featuring a silly and slightly scary wolf...
Watch out! The big, bad wolf is coming to get you.
But first, he has to introduce himself. Drawn in thick black lines against a white background, he announces, with hands on hips, “Hello, I am the big bad wolf.” On subsequent pages, readers watch as he dons his big-bad-wolf outfit, one garment per page spread: first his underpants (covered in pink hearts), then a white T-shirt, orange socks, blue pants, a red pullover, boots, a feathered hat, and finally, a long black coat. Kids will readily relate to this time-consuming process of getting dressed (though they may be initially thrown by a couple of unusual vocabulary choices: “trousers” and “top”). As he pulls on all these various items, the wolf looks downright silly, with large, round yellow eyes and a goofy grin. On the final pages, he turns more menacing with arms raised, eyebrows slanted and pink tongue protruding. Following the advice on the back cover—quickly “snap[ping] the book shut to keep the wolf inside”—will help wee ones feel safe as they enjoy the thrill of a little scare.
Originally published in France, this vibrantly colored, vertically bound offering featuring a silly and slightly scary wolf will keep kids coming back for more. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-877579-42-4
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Gecko Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The history of music is a big topic, and more-nuanced explanation is needed than the format allows.
This ambitious board book aims to promote an eclectic appreciation for music of all kinds.
Music, from drumming to computer-generated sound, is introduced as a linear historical sequence with two pages devoted to each of 11 styles, including medieval European, orchestral, blues, and more. Most of the musicians are portrayed as children, many with darker skin tones and with hairstyles and garb commonly associated with each type of music. Radford works in a retro cartoon mode, varying his presentation slightly with each new musical style but including a dancing dachshund on almost every spread, presumably to enhance child appeal. Unfortunately, the book just can’t succeed in reducing such a wide range of musical styles to toddler-appropriate language. The first two spreads read: “We start with clapping, tapping, and drums. // Lutes, flutes, and words are what we become.” The accompanying illustrations show, respectively, half-naked drummers and European court figures reading, writing, and playing a flute. Both spreads feature both brown-skinned and pale-skinned figures. At first reading this seems innocent enough, but the implication that clapping and drumming are somehow less civilized or sophisticated than a European style is reinforced in Stosuy’s glossary of music terms. He describes “Prehistoric Music” as “rhythmic music [made] with rocks, sticks, bones, and…voices,” while “Renaissance Music” is defined as “multiple melodies played at the same time.”
The history of music is a big topic, and more-nuanced explanation is needed than the format allows. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Aug. 21, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5344-0941-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 13, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
Simple words and big concepts will make this a godsend to parents at their wit's end.
This book seeks to use the power of persuasion to vanquish that most formidable of opponents: toddlers.
In this entry in the Big Kid Power series, a little black girl makes no bones about the fact that pacifiers (or “binkies”) are strictly baby territory. When she was little she needed one, but that was then. Whether she’s tired, sad, or hungry, there are other ways of being comforted: hugs and polite requests, for instance. After she gives her binky to a baby and bids it a very clear goodbye, the book ends with a triumphant, “I’M A BIG KID!” Using a striking color combination of orange, brown, and black, van Lieshout keeps her pages bold and bright, complementing the simple vocabulary. Such declarations as, “Do I still have a binky? // NO, BIG KIDS DON’T NEED A BINKY. / NOPE!” leave scant wiggle room for argument. In her author’s note at the end, van Lieshout says that after speaking to many parents about how they helped their kids bid their pacifiers adieu, “many of them had in common…a ritual of some sort.” The ritual here seems to be giving the pacifier away, though it may be missed by many readers. Companion title I Use the Potty uses a similar approach, with a proud, white boy as its guide.
Simple words and big concepts will make this a godsend to parents at their wit's end. (Picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 8, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4521-3536-6
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 8, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2016
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